HALIFAX — A new adaptation of Jack London’s oceangoing novel The Sea Wolf is launching from the Halifax waterfront, while the feature Noah’s Arc is getting off the ground in town.

The miniseries, an independent German-funded production through Gate Film, will be produced locally by David MacLeod of Big Motion Pictures (Trudeau) and shot at the Electropolis studio, adjacent to the Halifax harbour. The production manager will be Ginny Duzak.

The script was penned by Nigel Williams — scribe of the Golden Globe winning TV miniseries, Elizabeth I, starring Helen Mirren — and directed by Mike Barker. The budget is estimated at $16 million. The cast will be an international group, though none have yet been confirmed.

The production expects to go to camera in May, for a 60-day shoot, half of which will take place on the open ocean, aboard a tall ship expected to sail up from Martha’s Vineyard.

The book, set in the early 1900s, concerns well-educated lad who gets pressed aboard a seal-hunting schooner, helmed by a cruel but wise seadog named Wolf Larsen. The story was a bestseller in its time, and has been adapted numerous times to film and TV, including most recently with Stacy Keach in 1997, a Charles Bronson version in 1993 and the Edward G. Robinson/Ida Lupino classic in 1941.

Another production office opening in Halifax is for the feature Noah’s Arc. It’s based on the Los Angeles and Vancouver-shot TV series, produced by Blueprint Entertainment, among others, that aired for two seasons on Logo, the U.S. cable channel aimed at the lesbian, gay and transgendered community. MTV/Viacom/Logo are providing the financial backing for the picture, and the local producer will be Gilles Bélanger.

The series has been described as akin to Sex and the City — the ‘black, gay and male’ version — and the feature edition will be directed by series writer-director Patrik-Ian Polk, with a budget under $2 million. They expect to go to camera mid-March and shoot for 15 days.

Meanwhile, there’s been no recent word on the fate of The Other Side, the Katie Holmes/Woody Harrelson feature to be directed by David Michaels. Though a production office was to have opened in Halifax by the end of February, none has appeared.

It was also reported that Australian entrepreneur Steve Gilmour would be renovating the Shelburne Film Studios on Nova Scotia’s south shore, following his all-but-inked deal to purchase said studio from the South West Shore Development Authority.

Gilmour says he is no longer part of the bid to take over Shelburne, though his $22-million Moon Harvest remains in development. He says he hopes to shoot in Nova Scotia, pending the arrival of a name actor.

Another party has made a bid on the studio property, represented by Jim Kendrick and Mary Birsto of Vermont, neither of whom are filmmakers. Provided they comply with all conditions by March 31, they will own the property.